Tampa Bay Labor Day 2016 Weather: Not All Bad News

TAMPA, FL — Hurricane Hermine has set the pace for the start of Tampa Bay’s Labor Day weekend to be anything but pleasant. While heavy rain is expected over the next few days, forecasters at the National Weather Service say the entire holiday shouldn’t be a washout.

Friday is expected to kick off the long weekend on a very soggy note. The Tampa Bay area remains under a flood watch until 8 p.m., Sept. 2. That watch covers Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee and Sarasota counties, among others.

Forecasters warn heavy rains are likely to continue well into the evening Friday and may persist into Saturday.

There’s a 70 percent chance of heavy rain and breezy conditions during the daytime hours on Friday. The day’s high should only reach about 83 degrees in much of the region. Heavy rain chances continue into the evening hours when the low is expected to drop into the upper 70s.

Residents throughout the Tampa Bay area are also being warned that Hermine’s impacts were far from over as of Friday morning. The conditions expected to bring heavy rain throughout the day may also increase tornado and waterspout risk, weather service forecasters say. Flooding is also an ongoing concern with reports of impassable streets coming in from most communities in the Tampa Bay area. Law enforcement agencies across the Tampa Bay area have issued pleas to motorists to stay off the roads Friday and to avoid areas where street flooding is evident should they decide to venture out.

The news doesn’t get much better heading into Saturday. Forecasters say there’s a 60 percent chance of heavy rain during the daytime hours. The high temperature is expected to reach the mid-80s. Overnight, showers and isolated thunderstorms are possible along with a low in the mid-70s.

Sunshine is expected to make a return on Sunday. Partly sunny conditions with a high near 90 degrees are expected. Even so, there’s a 40 percent chance of rain in the forecast in the afternoon. Overnight, storm chances continue, and the low should drop into the mid-70s.

Labor Day is anticipated to kick off with partly sunny conditions and a high near 90 in much of the Tampa Bay area. Storm chances creep in at 40 percent in the afternoon hours and persist at 20 percent in the overnight hours. The evening low is expected to drop to the mid-70s.

For an extended forecast in your neighborhood, visit your local Patch's homepage.

Patch photo by Sherri Lonon